Reviewed by Anna Lynn
TITLE: Impact Zone
SERIES: Lifeguards of Barking Beach #3
AUTHOR: Keira Andrews
PUBLISHER: KA Books
LENGTH: 329 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 5, 2026
BLURB:
One forbidden night with his best friend’s father.
Lifeguard Lachlan Yang hasn’t thought about his harmless little crush on his best mate’s dad in forever. He hasn’t even seen Tim Bullock in fifteen years.
Then they walk into the same bar in Bali—and Tim doesn’t recognize him.
Lachlan should confess who he is. Of course he should! But Tim moved away from Barking Beach years ago and is estranged from Lachie’s best friend, Ryan.
They’re never going to see each other again. And Lachlan hasn’t wanted anyone this much in a long, long time.
It’ll be his secret.
Until he comes face-to-face with his new boss at the beach…
Impact Zone is a steamy M/M romance by Keira Andrews and the third book in the Lifeguards of Barking Beach series. It can be read as a standalone, though you’ll definitely want to read every book about this found family of lifeguards saving lives and risking their hearts. This forbidden romance features an age gap, best friend’s dad, demisexual awakening, bisexual identity exploration, and of course a happy ending.
REVIEW:
I love a little angst in my books and when I read the blurb on this one, I sort of was looking forward to the story. This story has an age gap trope, best friend’s father in which friend has had a crush on his best friend’s father since way back. But years passed since they saw each other and when they did, it was at a resort in Bali, Indonesia where they could just be anyone and hook up while they were there. And it did happened like that, although Lachlan knew who Tim was but Tim didn’t know who Lachlan was. Lachlan is Ryan’s, Tim’s son, best friend.
Lachlan and Tim seems like an unlikely pair, not only because of the age gap but because of the way they met again after so many years has passed. Although Lachlan knew who Tim was way before hooking up with him, it still was upsetting the way Tim just left him like that. But lo and behold, Tim was the last person Lachlan expected to see when he got back to work as a lifeguard after his vacation in Bali. And although Tim was aloof and arrogant at first, they started to get to know each other better. But the fact that Ryan, Tim’s son, is Lachlan’s best friend made everything a little bit more complicated although I think if you meet the right person, you will find a way to make things right. There were also some circumstances with Tim’s family dynamic that had to hash out between his ex-wife and his son, so that adds to the drama a little bit.
Lachlan is an over-all nice guy who had to go through a lot of pain while growing up but I think he turned out to be a wonderful human being, and that makes you wish that he will find the perfect partner for himself. Lachlan and Tim are good for each other even though you might not think that the first time they met again, but they are what each other needs. A beautiful story overall, love is love always.
Age gap coupled with a little angst made this a good read for me.
RATING: 
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